In a recent decision, the Supreme Court validated the revelation of the CESTAT ruling that accounts for an amount of Rs 4.95 crore to the Trust of Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth for being used for yoga camps.
The apex court, in its recent order, has supported the verdict of the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and held that Sevak Samaj, associated with Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, is responsible for paying Rs 4.5 crore to the tax authority for charging an entry fee for arranging yoga camps.
In the case of the Allahabad CESTAT bench vs. Ramdev and Acharya Balkrish, Justices Abhay SA and Ujjal Bhuyan refused to reverse the decision against Patanjali Trust.
Moreover, in the month of October 2023, the tribunal found that Yog camps organized by Patanjali Yog Peeth Trust were earning some income from participants by way of fees paid. Consequently, these yoga camps are said to be offering yoga and fitness exercise services, attracting taxes. The ruling is a result of Revised’s appeal after the order of the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise of Meerut regarding the demand made for the service tax of Rs 4.5 crore, that is, from October 2006 to March 2011, with penalty and interest and PTI reported.
It was revealed that under the luminaire of the trust itself, the yoga saint Ramdev, along with his confidant Balkrishna, ran the yoga training course at Vedic camps and received donations from the participants in the form of cash.
In the opinion of the CESTAT, people are giving to the camps as a way of donation and entry fee, respectively.
Or, read also, Ramdev Urges To Publish Public Apology, Claims ‘Have Been Caught Up In My Words’. We got a blank ‘F-‘ from the ticket officer on the train to ‘Think’ if he would accept his apology later.
Surprisingly, though the amount was donated to the campaign, it was discovered to be disguised fees collected for offering the said services and hence were taxable as the merchant would command.
